Markets Jul 11, 2006
Even though I don't understand money, I realized something somewhat money-related:  Some markets and products are industry-driven, while others are customer-driven. 

Bubble gum probably wasn't invented for the purpose of meeting a need.  No one said, "Ya know what I want?  Something to chew on for a while without dissolving in my mouth."  Same with TV (whoa, that's a jump).  Nobody said, "Ya know what I need?  Something to watch in order to waste my time.  I just have too much of it."  I would postulate that many things in our lives exist because some marketing person thought it would make them some money.  Diamond rings, car radios, personal computers, shampoo, "collectibles", cereal, and theme parks are a few more examples of industry-driven products/services.  In other words, the market for these products was created by the people who made/sold them; they provided no viable solution to a problem or need. 

But then there are other huge markets that developed over time out of a definite need for a solution to a problem or inconvenience.  Athletes in all sports need something to give them better footing.  Enter the world of athletic shoes:  Tennis shoes, running shoes, soccer cleats, football cleats (different from soccer cleats), basketball sneakers, etc.  These products were all developed to meet the needs of athletes.  Sure, these products may have been embellished a bit (who the heck needs to pump extra air into their shoes?), but their general purpose was brought about by a specific set of needs.  The personal automobile came about in order to transport people from place to place.  Eventually, people wanted a smoother ride.  Enter the modern suspension system.  Certain people wanted to be more comfortable in their cars in Florida.  Enter air conditioning.  Somebody wanted to watch the sky as they drove.  Enter the sunroof.  All these things came about because somebody needed or wanted it.  A company didn't come up with the idea and try to convince us that we all needed it (except maybe sunroofs). 

It's interesting to see where certain things come from and why we sometimes desire them. #business
Streaming video Jul 11, 2006
Jason Kottke wrote a post on this a little while ago, and I mentioned it briefly in my post about hosted services:  Streaming video has made leaps and bounds in the past several months/year.  In the past, people used to email 3MB videos to each other and forward them to all their family and friends (thanks for clogging my mailbox, idiots).  Then a bunch of sites popped up that hosted these videos and streamed them "for free", accompanied by droves of untargeted ads and popups. 

But recently, sites like Youtube, Google Video, and other "Flickrs of video" have popped up, streaming videos for free with a flash-based player.  This eliminates the need for plugins, codecs, compatibility (for the most part), and downloading.  Everything happens in the browser; there's no need for third-party components (except a flash plugin, which is almost standard these days). #technology